visit remax.com today. captioning made possible by johnson & johnson, where quality products for the american family have been a tradition for generations >> osgood: good morning. i'm charles osgood and this is sunday morning. we sometimes hear it said that america doesn't build any great public works projects anymore. however, true or untrue, that may be, there's no denying the greatness of the structure in the great southwest that is celebrating its 75th anniversary this month. susan spencer will report our cover story. >> reporter: constructed during the great depression, the massive and graceful

hoover dam has sat astride the colorado river for three- quarters of a century. a dam many doubted ever could be built but which still supplies power and water today. >> you have eight generating units on the nevada side and nine generating units on the arizona side. >> reporter: later on sunday morning, come celebrate the 75th anniversary of the hoover dam. the dam that built the west. >> osgood: jamie lee curtis is a big star in hollywood who tries never to lose sight of the little things that really count. this morning she talks about that with julie chen. >> reporter: jamie lee curtis is an actress. >> what i'm about to do is... (tires screeching) >> reporter: an author, an activist but mostly.... >> it's being a good mom the hardest job you've ever had. >> it is the only job that's truly important. >> reporter: later on sunday morning....

>> i hate you. >> reporter: a heart to heart with jamie lee curtis. >> my daughter is going to say, mom, you cried on tv. >> osgood: a crash course on the stock market crash. one controversial film director is offering audiences this fall. as you'll see it's he's not the least bit shy about telling katie couric all about it. >> couric: he's back in all his glory. >> why don't you start calling me gordon. >> reporter: gordon gekko and the man who helped create him. has gordon gekko gone all soft on us? >> soft, no. but he's got a heart. he's not soft. he's a tough guy. >> reporter: is there a little oliver stone in gordon gekko? >> sure there is, of course. >> reporter: a walk back down wall street with oliver stone later on sunday morning. >> osgood: don't try this at home is more than just a warning. when you attend the sort of event our bill geist just survived.

>> reporter: now you might think saturday night in omaha sounds a little dull. but when they start lighting the roler derby girls on fire, you'll think again. one reason saturday night was an absolute blast. you'll see for yourselves later on sunday morning. >> osgood: we'll also remember simon and gar garfunkel's big concert in the park. hear from the man who reorganized the auto industry, consider what's in a name with the fast draw and more. but first here are the headline for this september 19, 2010. last sunday morning of summer. after spending over a year in an iranian jail, sarah shourd is now home. she's one of three american hikers charged with spying after wandering across iran's border. shourd arrived at washington's de los airport this morning. michelle miller has the latest. >> reporter: before leaving the middle east yesterday, sarah shourd thank the arab

nation of oman for helping broker her release. >> i will always associate your country with the first breath of my freedom. >> reporter: an ally of both the united states and iran mediated the half million dollar bail that led to shourd's freedom. in her statement shourd made no mention of her time in iran's notorious evan prison but did ask that her fellow hikers not be forgotten. >> please, please extend your prayers to my financee shane and my friend josh. >> these two young men have been held without cause now. >> reporter: second of state hillary rodham clinton says she's continuing diplomatic negotiations for their freedom through third parties. >> it would be a very significant humanitarian gesture for the iranians to release them. >> reporter: but on iranian television president mahmoud ahmadinejad called on america to offer an olive branch. he wants the release of 11

iranians he claims are being held captive by the u.s. president ahmadinejad is coming here to new york later today to attend the u.n. general assembly. shourd supporters say she's holding a news conference timed to coincide with his arrival. for sunday morning this is michelle miller. >> osgood: pope benedict ends his four day trip to britain today after beatifying cardinal john henry knewman a 19th century englishman who converteded to catholicism. yesterday the pontiff offered an apology to the victims of clerical sex abuse while thousands marched in london to protest the vatican's response to that scandal. in bermuda they're batening down the hatches ahead of hurricane igor. this morning it was downgraded to a category 1 storm. it's expected to hit the island late tonight or early tomorrow. b.p.'s blown-out oil well in the gulf of mexico is expected to be declared permanently plugged later today. the announcement pending test results will mark the end of

the spill that began five months ago. authorities in southern california issued an alert late last night for five adults and eight children reported missing by relatives. the group is described as cult like might commit mass suicide after letters will they left behind were found stating they were going to heaven. now today's weather. feels like autumn has already arrived up north but summer is still in full swing in the south. complete with heat, humidity and thunderstorms. the pattern should hold in the week ahead. the first days of fall will bring cool air up north, heat and humidity down south. next now that's a dam. >> in 1987, oliver, you spent a lot of time down here on wall street. >>,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

>> osgood: not when you're talking about a certain giant concrete structure that's having its diamond anniversary. our cover story is reported now by susan spencer of "48 hours." >> reporter: more than a million people flock to the remote desert on the arizona/nevada border each year. they oo and aaah at a 75-year-old marvel of engineering, the majestic hoover dam.

they've all seen the pictures. it's not the same. look at that. look how far that is though. >> it's huge. bigger than i thought it would be. >> reporter: it sure is. at 726 feet, it would tower over the washington monument. the concrete in it would pave a road from new york to san francisco. that's enough to build a sidewalk around the equator. that's what it took to stop the mighty colorado river dead in its tracks. as for environmental concerns.... >> the conservation in those days had a very different meaning from what it means today. >> reporter: it meant not protecting resources but exploiting them. says michael hillsick the author of a new history of the hoover dam. after all, the region had suffered devastating floods and droughts. the west needed power and water for its developing cities.

so in 1931 when hoover was president, construction began. and the question wasn't, should we build this dam? but rather, can we? >> it was well understood that this was going to be possibly the most challenging project that engineers had ever faced. the builders had to invent construction techniques. they had to invent equipment. this dam was invented as it was created. >> reporter: that discourageded no one. this was the depression. red lines were grow... bread lines were growing. people were desperate. the dam meant a job. thousands came. soon a whole town, bolder city, sprang up near the site. in their eagerness many workers discovered they had underestimated both the risks of the work and the misery of the desert sun. >> this was a furnace. it was like working on the inside of a blast furnace. that first summer he had...

you had scores and scores of men kiehling over from heat work and dying from what the contractors termed natural causes. >> reporter: in 1981 several former workers spoke with a documentary crew. >> how hot it would get. >> down at the dam, i saw 145 degrees down there in that canyon with no air circulation. if you had a little breeze, then you would get maybe down to 130 or 125. >> reporter: officially 96 men died building the dam. unofficially no one really knows. in the deep tunnels, men would sicken from breathing carbon monoxide from truck exhaust. while far above the canyon floor, workmen's lives literally hung in the balance. >> they were known as high scalers. >> reporter: 500 feet. >> 500 feet on chairs suspended from ropes from the top of the cliff. their job was to groom the

cliff side so that rocks wouldn't fall on the men working below. >> reporter: so they're chicago he willing away. >> they're chicago he willing away, boring holes for dynamite. they're placing dynamite. they're doing all these things and they're doing it basically suspended in midair. some of them got reputations as being real acrobats. people would come to the top of the cliff to watch them perform. >> reporter: the project was finished in 1935 for more than $100 million. equivalent to about a quarter of the country's entire annual public works budget back then. f.d.r. himself showed up to dedicate it. >> on behalf of the nation, we say to you well done. >> reporter: it's its official name was bolder dam. the democrats in power, having stripped republican hoover's name right off it. >> hoover, of course, is out of office. not only was he not invited. it was a full day of ceremony. many many speeches including

the keynote speech by the president himself. and herbert hoover's name was not mentioned once. >> reporter: it would take 14 years and a republican congress to rename it hoover dam. by then, it had started its long and storied movie career. >> beautiful, isn't it? great monument to man's unceasing industry and his stubborn faith in the future. >> reporter: from hitchcock's saboteur in 1942 to transformers just a few years ago. >> this is fun. >> the only way to travel. >> reporter: in between in 1964's viva las vegas, ann margret and elvis flew over it. >> you know this dam makes enough electricity to light up homes 300 miles away. >> reporter: in laugh vacation chevy chase climbed up it. >> please take all the dam

pictures you want. now are there any dam questions? >> reporter: in superman, the bad guys detonated it and the super one reassembled it. and now at&t is draping it in orange. ken rice, who manages the dam, thinks he understands its appeal. >> i think success, power. i mean, you look at hoover dam, 75 years doing what we've been doing for 75 years, storing that water, delivering that water and creating power. you know, that's a story of success. >> reporter: he appreciates its beauty as well. the clean art deco lines, striking sculptures, italian tile floors, and those gleaming turbines. >> well, you have eight generating units on the nevada side and nine generating units on the arizona side. so a total of 17 generator units. >> reporter: the dam today

supplies power for more than a million people and water for some 20 million. that's far less than needed and at a huge cost. continuing drought, growing populations, and higher demand have left the once mighty colorado a mere trickle when it reaches the sea. wildlife habitats perhaps whole species have been lost. even the dam's most die-hard fans concede it probably wouldn't be built today. but they insist it was both right and remarkable to build it then. >> so the foresight that those folks had to build this structure back in the '30s and put this structure in place to harness the colorado river and to look at future needs of the colorado was just amazing at that point in time that those folks could even think that. >> reporter: you almost get emotional talking about this dam. >> absolutely. this is a wonderful place. i mean when you really think about it and you come to

hoover and all the history behind hoover and everything, it is. it's easy to get caught up in it. >> you know it's not the tallest dam. it's not the biggest dam. but it's got a grace and power that really takes people... really seizes the imagination. ♪ >> reporter: the dam's future seems secure. its birthday present will be a new bridge across the canyon, a perfect vantage point from which to ex-claim the obvious: hot dam and happy birthday. >> osgood: ahead... ♪ you move too fast >> osgood: a simon and garfunkel reunion ♪ got to make the morning last ♪

than advil pm liqui-gels. rushing real liquid relief to ease you to sleep fast. for nighttime pain, make advil pm your #1 choice. rushing real liquid relief to ease you to sleep fast. words alone aren't enough. my job is to listen to the needs and frustrations of the shrimpers and fishermen, hotel or restaurant workers who lost their jobs to the spill. i'm iris cross. bp has taken full responsibility for the clean up in the gulf and that includes keeping you informed. our job is to listen and find ways to help. that means working with communities. restoring the jobs, tourist beaches, and businesses impacted by the spill. we've paid over $400 million in claims and set up a $20 billion

independently-run claims fund to cover lost income until people impacted can get back to work. and our efforts aren't coming at tax-payer expense. i know people are wondering-- now that the well is capped, is bp gonna meet its commitments? i was born in new orleans. my family still lives here. i'm gonna be here until we make this right. funny thing about vegetables... they fill you up without filling you out. yes! v8 juice gives you three of your five daily servings of vegetables. that's what i'm talking about! v8. what's your number? >> osgood: and now a page from our sunday morning almanac. october 19, 1981, 29 years ago today. the day rock music fans enjoyed a long-awaited reunion.

♪ slow down, you move too fast ♪ ♪ you've got to make the moment last ♪ >> osgood: for it was on that saturday evening that simon and garfunkel performed a free concert in new york's central park. ♪ feeling groovey ♪ i am just a poor boy though my story's seldom told ♪ >> osgood: a singing duo since school days paul simon and art garfunkel first hit the big time in the mid '60s with "the sound of silence." ♪ the restless dreams i walk alone ♪ >> osgood: and followed up with a series of memorable sojs songs, several of which made it into the sound track of the 1967 film "the graduate." ♪ here's to you, mrs. robinson ♪ ♪ jesus loves you more than you will know ♪

>> osgood: although artistic and personal differences broke up the pair in 1970, they the make a few joint appearances over the next several years setting the stage for the central park relaunch. >> i'm very, very excited. >> osgood: talking to reporters before the concert simon jokeded good naturedly about their long-time falling out. >> i always liked singing together. >> i just can't get along with the guy. very difficult. >> osgood: garfunkel said he couldn't wait for the show to start sqoo i'm like a swimmer standing on the edge of the pool who has been looking at the water for a couple of weeks dying to get in. >> announcer: simon and garfunkel. >> osgood: from the time simon and garfunkel dove in, as many as a half million fans were there to cheer them on. ♪ slip sliding away >> osgood: song after song. ♪ like a bridge over troubled

water ♪ >> osgood: in the years since their central park success, simon and garfunkel have occasionally reunited for concerts and tours. ♪ said the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls ♪ >> osgood: their latest old friends tour scheduled for earlier this year is currently on hold while art garfunkel recovers from a vocal cord condition. the sound of silence no loyal simon and garfunkel fan ever wants to hear. ahead, the road to recovery. sometimes getting our kids to eat the way they should

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>> osgood: you won't find the job title car czar in any list of official u.s. government positions. yet that's exactly the position steven ratner found himself in a year-and-a-half ago. as you tells our colleague anthony mason it was quite a ride. >> today after consulting with my auto task force, i can report that the necessary steps have been taken. >> reporter: as the american auto industry was swerving to avoid a disastrous crash last year, president obama handed the steering wheel to a wealthy wall street investment banker who had only... who would only appear at the rear of the president's news conferences but played a central role in the crisis. how much did you know about the auto industry going into this? >> roughly zero.

>> reporter: but steve ratner got a crash course. as a lead advisor on the president's auto task force, a job the media dubbed the car czar. ratner helped allocate billions of tarp dollars to try to save detroit. >> i would wake up in the night sometimes and say to myself, this whole auto industry is resting on whether our team can figure this problem out. it was pretty scary. >> reporter: it looked even scarier when in march of 2009 ratner and the auto team went to look under the hood of g.m. on a visit to the motor city. did the management at general motors surprise you? >> i was shocked. >> reporter: in his new book "overall," ratner calls the company's bookkeeping mind bogglingly shoddy. >> it was the worst finance group we'd ever seen. >> reporter: the worst? >> pretty much. this is a company that could not tell you on any given day within $500 million how much

cash it had. >> just updating the congressman on what's going on in the auto business. >> reporter: as g.m. came to washington bleeding billions in losses and begging for what would ultimately be a $50 billion bailout, ceo rick wagoner blamed the japanese, the unions and the economy, everyone but himself. was g.m. at all prepared for bankruptcy? >> no, they had done nothing. not only were they not prepared but rick wagoner had very specifically said he didn't want to prepare. >> reporter: what kind of position is that for an executive to take? >> frankly it's an irresponsible position. >> reporter: at what point did you decide that rick wagoner needed to go? >> quite early on. >> reporter: on march 26, 2009, rat ner called the g.m. ceo to his office in the treasury building and fired him. >> i said to him back in mid march he had graciously offered to step aside if the government thought it was necessary. and that we had concluded it was. >> reporter: rick wagoner's

response was to point the finger at the union boss of the united auto workers. >> he asked me if i was going to fire the head of the uaw. i think that was his way of saying this is his fault at least as much if not more than my fault. i said i wasn't in charge of firing him. >> reporter: rick wagoner's successor to cut costs would propose selling the renaissance center. g.m.'s iconic headquarters in downtown detroit. and moving the company to the suburbs. >> when i exposed that to some of my white house colleagues they said are you out of your mind? we really can't let g.m. leave detroit when detroit had, i believe, literally 25% unemployment at the time. >> reporter: how quickly was that idea abandoned. >> less time than this interview has taken place. >> reporter: ratner who reported to the president's chief economic advisor, larry summers, concluded the only way to save g.m. was for the government to buy it. you made an early promise to larry summers. you said to him don't worry.

we're not going to own g.m. >> i was wrong. >> reporter: did he blanch when you told him that it was going to be 61% ownership by the u.s. government? >> he grim as. we all grim ased. >> reporter: but ratner said the president signed off on it more easily than he signed off on saving chrysler over which the task force was divided. at the meeting to determine chrysler's fate, the vote was 4 to 3 in favor of letting chrysler fail. >> larry summers turned to me and said you've got to make a decision. i hemmed and haued and agonized. i finally said we should try to save it. that made it 4 to 4. larry cast the deciding vote within that particular meeting which was to go to the president with a recommendation that we save it. >> reporter: it was march of 2009 ratner remembers, and the recession was at its worst. >> we were looking into a black hole. it just seemed like an imprudent risk to let chrysler go as some kind of social

experiment to see what would happen if we felt it could be made viable. >> reporter: what do you think would have happened if we hadn't saved g.m.? >> those two companies together, you would have lost a million jobs instantly. the entire auto industry and all the ancillary pieces that are around it and all the people who depend on it for their livelihoods would have been out of work. it would have been an economic disaster beyond all comprehension. >> reporter: after g.m. and chrysler emerged from bankruptcy, ratner left the auto task force to face his own problems. an investigation into whether he and the firm he founded, the quadr angle group had bribed officials to get pension fund investments, accusations he denies in his book but won't discuss. >> i can't say anything about it. >> reporter: general motors, the company he helped rescue, is is profitable again. would you buy g.m. stock now? >> at the right price i would definitely buy g.m. stock. >> reporter: the tax payers paid more than $80 billion to save the auto industry, but

steve ratner says he was no regrets. >> the industry is actually adding jobs for the first time in a long time. i feel good about it. i feel like we did the right thing. >> people never thought about money as a subject for a movie. >> osgood: next katie couric talks with "wall street" director oliver stone. later julie chen. one on one with actress jamie lee curtis. wouldn't it be nice if every time meg whitman told a lie her nose would grow? newspapers report the claims in this meg whitman ad are false. and she knows it. taxes went down under jerry brown. but whitman's nose keeps growing by the millions.

meg whitman's nose keeps growing. whitman says california lost jobs under jerry brown. turns out 1.9 million jobs were created. she spent millions saying jerry brown raised taxes. fact is brown cut 4 billion in taxes.

but whitman's nose keeps growing by the millions. >> i'll tell you what. i'll make you a deal. you stop telling lies about me and i'll stop telling the truth about you. >> it's sunday morning on cbs. here again is charles osgood. >> osgood: gordon gekko returns to the screen in oliver stone's new film "wall street: money never sleeps." it's a crash course in all that's gone wrong in high finance since michael douglas first played gordon gekko. katie couric went with stone to the investment world's own center stage. >> couric: so here we are. do you feel like you're stepping into the lion's den at all? >> no, it's fun. we shot this in 1987. >> couric: on the floor of the

new york stock exchange, oliver stone still commands plenty of attention. >> how is is the blue stock? >> couric: 23 years after he made the original wall street, the film an unvarnished and unflattering look at the financial industry is still for many here required viewing. >> a couple of thousands up. >> i have to buy some stock here. what do you offer? >> what are you looking at? >> excuse me. 80,000-and-a-half. >> couric: the agitated man with the moustache is real life former trader mike ritiglaon. you haven't changed a bit. >> thank you, katie. this is the longest 15 minutes of fame. this was filmed in '87. we talk about it every day. >> couric: wow. are you worried that this 1987 film was so successful in capturing the... it was kind of a kismet moment for the american psyche that it's

going to be hard to replicate it because i know this is the first sequel you've ever done, right? >> if i really wanted to do a sequel i would have done it in the 1990s because that's more sense. it's fresh in the memory making more money. you're facing 23 years later. some people there's a whole new generation that doesn't know the original. i'm fine. i really did this movie because it was worth doing on its... because of the 2008 crash and that gave it a definition, a background. >> yes, sir, thank you. thank you for the chance. you will not regret this. you're with a winner. >> right. >> reporter: in the original wall street a young trader charlie sheen bud fox gets involved with the predatory corporate raider gordon gekko in one of michael douglas's most notorious roles. >> come on, pal. tell me something i don't know. it's my birthday. surprise me. >> reporter: at the time it was a cautionary tale, but compared to the recent economic crisis, it seems almost innocent.

>> 200,000 shares. >> couric: in 1987 the stakes were smaller, the cell phones were bigger, and the prevailing mood could be summed up in one iconic phrase. >> greed. for lack of a better word. greed is good. >> reporter: the new movie "wall street: money never sleeps" follows another young trader played this time by a man who falls in with a very fast, very rich crowd led by josh brolin as the super banker. >> disappointing. i really saw so much in you jacob. >> reporter: michael douglas reprises his oscar-winning role picking up gekko's story as he's released from prison. >> one mobile phone. >> reporter: a man who has lost everything including the love of his daughter, now engaged to lee buff. >> we're supposeded to make

each other feel safe. >> reporter: like many of his movies, wall street echos oliver stone's personal life. he was born in new york city, the son of a successful stockbroker. did you ever want to follow in your father's footsteps at all or did you feel like he got ultimately kind of kicked in the teeth at the end? >> my dad loved what he did. he loved business. he loved writing about it. he lived his whole life out here. although he didn't, you know, he had a tough time because of the new changes at the end he really... he worked until he died. it gave him satisfaction. >> couric: but stone wanted more. after a brief stint at yale, he joined the army and went to vee... vietnam. he came home a decorated combat veteran but was confused and conflicted. >> how do you come back from the war? do you come back stone dead inside or with a heart still? that was the hardest thing for

me was not fighting the enemy although they were significant. it was to try to keep your own humanity alive inside you. war is a curse because it scars people for life. >> reporter: you still seem scarred by your own personal experience there. >> but i overcame it into the sense that i readapted to society. i made three movies about it. i was able to exercise some of these... objectioner sis some of these devils. >> couric: stone turned his vietnam demons into a box office success winning a director oscar for platoon. >> i don't want you to feel sorry for me. >> reporter: and another for born on the fourth of july. >> i have my hands, my eyes, my ears. i have my heart. >> reporter: he since has become one of hollywood's most prolific and controversial directors tackling subjects that define his generation. including the assassination of j.f.k., the doors...

♪ girl, we couldn't get much higher ♪ >> couric: nixon. >> i'm not a quitter. never have been. >> osgood: and george w. bush. >> i won the election. that's what this is. any doubt of my judgment. >> as much as i may detest his policies i tried to make him human. some people criticize when they said it was too sympathetic to bush. i thought it was empathetic. there's a big difference to me. but i walkd in his shoes. you understand by going across the valley and walking in the shoes of someone you do not like, it makes you more human and more tolerant. when i do a wall street movie i have to think like the bankers. i have to feel for them too because they have their point of view. >> couric: you spent a lot of time down here on wall street shooting, right? >> yeah. >> couric: he's a provocative person who likes to rattle cages turning his lens on

fidel castro, the israeli- palestinian conflict and venezuela's president hugo chavez. you're absolutely fearless in the subject matter and the people you focus on and you try to profile or explain. >> i like hugo chavez personally. but i think, you know, and he's made mistakes but i don't live with my conscience when i'm alive-- i'm going to be dead one day very shortly probably-- what have i done? i've just added to the american pain. all my taxes are going to bombing people in afghanistan and iraq. i'm not happy about that. what can i do for my children to change things? >> you know what they say. bulls make money. bears make money. the pigs, they get slaughtered. >> couric: stone's latest wall street movie got unscheduled and unwelcome publicity when star michael douglas announced he was battling throat cancer. i watched this movie and i thought, gee, i wonder if he was sick during the filming of

this. >> no. no, michael was... i couldn't see it. in fact we went to the film festival. we previewd there. it was a very wonderful experience. he looked strong. i couldn't tell. he said himself it was early summer when it came on. apparently he had it checked quite a bit. nothing. >> couric: it was undiagnosed. >> no he went to doctors. they couldn't figure out anything until i guess august. so it was a shame. i know he's going through a period of difficulty. i pray for him. >> couric: in the film douglas's gekko is still a bit slimy but older and seemingly more human. >> the one thing i learned in jail is that money is not the master in life. time is. your time is just about up. >> reporter: has gordon gekko gone all soft on us? >> soft, no but he's got a heart. he's not soft. he's a tough guy. gordon. he does tough things in the movie. i won't tell you what he does but he does play dirty tricks. there's two twists in the

movie. >> couric: he's still the old gordon gekko in many ways. >> part. definitely when you're that age-- and i am-- we all know the beatles song, right. >> couric: when i'm 64. happy birthday today by the way. >> thank you, katie. when you reach that age, i mean, you better have come to some conclusion that money isn't everything. >> couric: like the market itself, it's hard to predict how oliver stone's new movie will do. but on the street at least, the inside word is bullish. this is a time when wall street isn't exactly kind of at the pinnacle of respect in this country. >> i think people are going to enjoy this movie. (laughing) >> as the world turns. >> osgood: coming up the day the world stopped turning. kin? challenge the need for such heavy measures with olay. new regenerist micro-sculpting serum for firmer skin in 5 days.

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>> osgood: three mile posts now by which to remember the week. the census bureau reported a sharp jump in the poverty rate last year to 14.3%, the highest rate in 15 years. all tolled the recession pushed four million more americans into poverty, a total of 44 million in all. that's one person in seven. for children the rate was one in five. the census bureau also reports the number of americans without health insurance grew last year from 46 million to 51 million. all of us at cbs news are poorer for the loss of long-time courtroom artist howard rhode who died last sunday at the

age of 94. the young howard brody sketched front line combat in world war ii and korea and went on to a long career of drawing for cbs news and other journalism outfits capturing the famous and the infamous with a few deft strokes. everyone from sirhand-sirhand to charles manson. in 1987 at age 71, howard brody traveled to france to cover the war crimes trial of clause barbi. he talks to us about what kept him going. >> i hoped to understand violence in my life. i had been exposed to it. four wars, five executions. i hoped to understand the human being. >> osgood: with that determination and his remarkable body of work, it's no wonder that walter cronkite once called howard brody the ultimate journalist. ♪ and finally the world finally stopped turning this past

friday for the cast and crew of "as the world turns." the cbs soap opera that helped launch the careers of stars such as meg ryan. >> we never stopped loving each other. we never stopped believing in each other. >> reporter: and marissa. >> he's fun and smart and wonderful. >> reporter: after 54 years on the air time and sinking ratings finally caught up with the residents of never a dull moment oakdale, illinois. >> action. >> reporter: but only after a few last reflections from the local hospital chief dr. bob hughes played for 50 years by don hastings who wrapped up the series by retiring from his post. >> good night. >> reporter: leaving a spinning globe behind. navigating today's real estate market is complicated.

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we are fourteenth in line for take off. beep, beep, beep. looks like its bumper to bumper on the interstate. i gotta get to cleveland! should have skipped that second soda. remove your belt, your watch, your shoes. i wonder what gas costs today. seven dollars for a pillow! an extra bag costs what? i hate traffic! (train child) the train is now arriving. (announcer) the train has arrived indeed. amtrack. enjoy the journey.

(bells ringing) >> osgood: practicing on this from zimbabwe. one example of the rare and exotic musical instruments you can find on exhibit at a new museum whose displays are meant to be seen and heard. arizona is home to one of the largest canyons in the world. but even the grand canyon might not be big enough to contain the sound made by more than 3,000 instruments, each on display at the musical instrument museum recently opened in phoenix.

here you can marvel at the intricate details of an 18th century viola. pluck the strings of this instrument. or hear the melody of an lyre from ken i can't. ... kenya. >> what we wanted to do from the very start is to create a museum that is based on understanding what is the art form that surrounds more of us on an everyday basis than any other, and that is music. >> osgood: built de walt is the president and director of the museum. >> we have created ensembles of musical instruments from every country. what we're presenting is audio and video from those countries as well. ♪

even if you can't read the labels because you don't speak a language that we support, you can listen to the music and you can really get into the music of the world. >> osgood: what a word. this is john lennon's piano, the one he used to come pose "imagine." and this is an entire ensemble of an indonesia orchestra. there's virtually every type of instrument you've ever heard of and some you've never heard of. still more whose names you might not even be able to pronounce. from taiwan the lalingdawn.

the museum founded by the former chairman and ceo of target openeded just this past spring and already music lovers are taking note. >> it's really cool actually. i didn't know there were this many instruments from just africa. i mean we're just in africa right now. we haven't even seen asia or south america or anything so it's cool. >> osgood: each visitor is given a controlled head set so they can better appreciate the unique sounds that surround them. >> you don't have to push any buttons or anything. it just knows where you are. >> osgood: divided into seven major global regions, the collection includes instruments from practically every corner of the world. >> all the displays have a certain interest and value. you learn so much about history not just music but

history. it's a real education from a to z when you come here. >> osgood: each has a story of its own, a story that often involves unique, even extraordinary materials. take this shaker from honduras. it's made from the lower jaw bone of a horse. from croatia, a bag pipe from a pig bladder. south african electric guitar made from an oil can. there are instruments that speak a language of their own, but in many ways it's a universal language. >> people have this indecree i believe inate need to make musical instruments. they will make them out of nearly everything imaginable. because i think people need these amplifyers of human emotions.

>> osgood: next, what's in a name? ,,

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the corn refiners association petitioned the fda this week for permission to relabel high fructose corn syrup as corn sugar. which got mitch butler and josh landis of the fast draw to thinking. >> corn sugar. sweet. >> if only we could solve all our problems by changing names. >> actors solve the problem of run of the mill names like marion morrison and carlos rey by choosing tough guy names like john wayne and, yes, chuck norris. the people of montana grabbed national headlines but renaming their town for a while after the football player joe montana. they stored big publicity.

>> the right name can makeover ra weapon of mass destruction. nuclear missile sounds much more menacing than a peacekeeper missile. >> someone founded a company called 100 monkeys, a company that helps name other monkeys. he says picking a new name for a product or person goes to the core of an identity. >> you know in a way it's one of the most outrageous things that you can do because your name is so basic and fundamental to who you are and how people think about you. >> if you want to change a name the new name should be december december descriptive and create an emotional connection. >> rename your office the productivity playground because names change behaviors. not many people are eating a fish called the slime head until it became the more and tiesing orange roughy. a name that rolls off the tongue and makes that fish easier to swallow. now folks want to do the same thing with asian carp. an invasive species taking

over america's lakes and rivers. they want to rename it kentucky tuna. and let the deep frying begin. after all, give a man and a fish and he'll eat for a day. teach a man to rename a fish and he'll eat perret he much anything. ... and he'll eat pretty much anything. >> osgood: next, the many roles of jamie lee curtis. later bill geist among the daredevils.

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>> want to try activia great new taste. >> it's sunday morning a cbs and here again is charles osgood. >> osgood: tv ads are just one chapter in the long career of actress jamie lee curtis. her urge to act goes back a long way as she tells the early show's julie chen in this sunday profile. >> reporter: you've said that acting is easy for you. how? is it in your dna? >> i'm sure it's in my dna.

i'm a performer. i've just been one since i was a little girl. i used to pretend all the time. i was a make-believer so i would be a secretary. i would just for hours go, "mr. brown's office." "oh, very well, thank you." to me that's acting. there's no difference between that-- meryl streep is watching this going really? >> reporter: pretending may come naturally to jamie lee curtis. you should say she was born to it. the younger daughter of screen legend janet lee and tony curtis. but her real life is unlike anything she'd imagined. at what point in your life did you realize," i have achieved what... not only what i wanted to achieve but what most people don't in this world?" >> i didn't want to achieve anything. that's like the last thing that... i'm not a dreamer so i

never had a wish list. >> reporter: not to be a best selling author, but her latest children's book published this month is her ninth. not to be an activist. or a pitch woman. or even a wife and mother. >> jamie lee curtis. >> reporter: and not to be an award-winning actress. so she's made some 40 films. her latest you again a comedy about lingering high school hive al res hits theaters this week. >> it's fun. >> reporter: you get to use your cheerleading skills. >> exactly. go gators, go, go, look at you. >> your character in the movie says nobody gets through high school unscathed. >> reporter: did you? >> no. no. i found high school to be a horror show. >> reporter: it was soon after

high school that curtis tried her hand at the family business. she was the scream queen in the film "halloween" and a strange of other horror movies. then became known as much for her looks as her talent in films like "trading places" and "perfect." did you enjoy being known as the body? >> no, no. >> reporter: why not? >> i don't think anyone likes to be known for something that's exterior. i don't believe it. i don't think any woman wants to be known for being beautiful. or busty. i think you want to be known for who you are. >> reporter: she wasn't a fan of the movie "perfect." still she can't look at herself in it now with some appreciation. >> i watched it with a friend of of my's daughter who had never seen it. believe me. there was a moment where i was,

dam, that was good. you looked fine. look at me. >> i know. we seem to be.... >> reporter: curtis eventually became known for her work in comedies, though she doesn't always give herself the highest marks for acting. >> i'm perfectly fine. i can't be really... i can be really really good occasionally. i may be able to be great occasionally. most of the time i'm just pretty good. >> reporter: your best role in your opinion. >> true lies without question. true lies was the best opportunity i had to be free. i think it shows. i just had a great great time. >> reporter: you won the golden globe for that. >> i did. >> reporter: her second. her first was for the tv series "anything but love." curtis was anything but in love with the demands of

hollywood and being a physical role model. she tried plastic surgery. botox and lipo-suction to look better. pain killers and alcohol to feel better. none of it worked. she battled her addictions and has been sober 12 years. >> i'm a human being who lives a flawed contradictory life. i have all sorts of problems and all sorts of successes. i would feel terrible if a woman sat there looking at a picture of me going, what's the point? >> reporter: so eight years ago at 43, she gave them a different picture to look at. she posed for more magazine in her underwear to make her own point. >> the hair, the make-up, the clothes. the art i physician, the air brushing, the thinning, the everything, the fashion, the "it." the "that" the thing, all of us is b.s., that it is against

the essence of who you are which is a beautiful... i mean, women... i meet women who say, i just wish. i'm like you're just gorgeous. >> reporter: what was the reaction when it came out? >> really positive. i knew it would be good. i did not know it would become something that maybe the single greatest thing that i'll ever do as a public figure. >> reporter: her role as a public figure isn't something she takes lightly. >> i wear this wig in honor of katie westbrook. when she died at the age of 14 years old.... >> reporter: particularly her advocacy for children's charities for which she's helped raise millions of dollars. >> i do what i can because i believe it's, of course, the reason why you're famous. there's no other reason really to be famous. but the key component, of course, is charity begins at home. >> reporter: curtis's home life has been her top priority. focusing on raising her two children with her husband of 25 years the actor and

director christopher guest. and she's found a new calling. >> i never planneded on writing book. i barely got through high school. >> reporter: her children's books written with illustrator laura cornell have sold more than 5.5 million copies. >> my mommy hung the moon. >> reporter: the latest "my mommy hung the moon" is dedicated to her mother who died six years ago. >> when she pours down rain so it's wet and dark, i climb up on her like she's noah's ark. >> this book is about mother- love. i've raised two children. i have had the great pleasure of feeling mother-love. my mommy is good at everything. when a child looks at you and you understand that you are the most important person that that human being ever will meet.... >> reporter: she doesn't have

happy memories of her own childhood. her parents were hollywood's glamor couple. he, the golden boy of spartacus, and some like it hot. she, the stunning siren remembersest for the shower scene in psycho. but tony curtis and janet lee divorced when she was just three. she was raised by her mother and stepfather. >> i loved my father. i loved my mother to this day. but i don't remember that bond, that mother-love. >> reporter: that's sad. >> yeah. yeah but, you know, that's also what it is. >> reporter: it's also being the daughter of two huge stars i would think. >> i don't know. you know, to be honest, julie, i really try not to make hollywood the.... >> reporter: the bad guy. >> the bad guy in my family.

>> reporter: she tried to learn from the lessons of her childhood. >> most people go into parenting saying i'm going to do it differently. i'm not going to be like my parents. i'm going to do it differently. >> reporter: did you say that? >> of course. then i think you end up being exactly like your parents because i think that's what happens. >> reporter: how are you like your mom? >> well, i'm an alcoholic. and i think that has run in our family for a long long time. >> reporter: tony curtis was not a big part of her life growing up. as an adult, her relationship with her father sometimes was straind. how would you describe your relationship with your father today? >> beautiful. beautiful. it's exactly what it needs to be. he likes that i call him and do an imitation of him. >> reporter: can i see it? >> hello. hello, honey. it's tony. hello, spartacus. how are you? hello. honey, it's good to talk to you.

i take photographs. i love to take pictures. i wanted to give a gift for my 60th birthday to my friends. >> reporter: now, 51, jamie lee curtis embraces this time of her life, a life she never pictured. >> when you start to achieve, it's hard because people don't get their dreams a lot. and to live a dream.... >> reporter: did you? >> oh, look at me. i mean, look at me. i'll bawl. you'll get me to bawl on national television. i mean look at my life. i mean i have a life that is... (crying) see, i hate you. i hate you. my daughter is going to say, mom, you cried on tv? [ kids ] whoa!

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>> osgood: the debate is heating up over whether the bush era tax cuts should be continued about only for individual incomes under $200,000 and family incomes under $250,000. our contributor ben stein joins the fray. >> confession time. i am a upper income tax payer not even remotely close to sports stars or movie stars not even close but i am above the level that mr. obama says makes me rich. in the midst of a severe recession i'm to have my taxes raised dramatically. i'm not quite sure why. i worked for almost every dime i had. i inherited a little bit from my parents. i didn't get a bailout or any part of a stimulus program except for traffic jams as the roads in beverly hills got worked on for the 10th time in the last ten years or so it seems. i pay my income taxes and after them and the commissions i pay my agent i'm left with about 2435 cents for every dollar i earn. naturally i pay property tax,

supposedly mostly to educate local children. my wife and i have no children in public school. and only did for about 18 months long ago. still pay the school tax every year. believe me, i'm not asking for any tears. i live a great life. i have a fabulous life. lovely son and daughter-in-law. and four fabulous fury dogs and six questionable cats all rescued. i have more than enough to eat. but what i don't get is this. there is no known economic theory under which raising my taxes in the midst of a severe recession will help the economy recover. it isn't part of any well known keynes keynesian theory. if it does no good to raise our taxes i assume we're being punished. but what am i being punished for? i employ a lot of people full and part time, mostly part time, and they're all happy with their pay. when charity calls, i almost always write out a check. i don't have a yacht or ponies or plane. my wife doesn't wear a tea air a. i don't gamble. what did i do wrong?

yes, i often get very angry at my wife's cats but that's not a crime. not yet. i tried to be successful which is what i thought i was supposed to do. when did it turn out that was a crime to be punished? maybe when the economy recovers raising my taxes makes sense. but for now it's just punishment and i can't figure out what for. >> osgood: commentary from ben stein. now to bob schieffer in washington for a look at what's ahead on face the nation. good morning, bob. >> schieffer: good morning, charles. we're going to talk to the former president bill clinton about his global initiatives conference that starts this week and we'll get his take on american politics. >> osgood: thank you, bob schieffer. that should be interesting. we'll be watching. just ahead here on sunday morning, rolling along with the daredevils. ♪ when it's planes in the sky ♪ ♪ for a chain of supply, that's logistics ♪ ♪ when the parts for the line ♪

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>> osgood: when somebody warns you don't try this at home, they usually mean it. our bill geist certainly does. >> reporter: frankly i thought saturday night in omaha might be a little dull. that was until they started lighting roler derby girls on fire. it was part of a daredevil spectacular, hyped as the greatest ever by its producer dr. dangerous.

>> this is the best guys in the business. they're all in one place. they want to entertain and please the fans. they're willing to risk their life doing it. >> welcome to the world of insanity. >> really just everybody out here is just, you know, basically a little crazy in their own way. i think it will be a fantastic show because of it. >> spanky spankaler making his way down track side for you, ladies and gentlemen. >> reporter: but the star of stars was the incomparable spanky spangler. he's been the guest for decades with 22,000 daredevil stunts under his seat belt. where did you get the idea to land on trucks and cars? >> people like crunch. you know, when you're doing a show, they like the crunch. i hold the record for the longest car jump. i hold the record for triple

spiral in the air. over 200 feet. i hold the record for a car jumping into the water. >> reporter: spanky began this unusual career as a hollywood stunt man. then one day he met the all mighty. >> i met eveal knievel which changed my life. when he started doing the live shows and i started doing them, i said that's where i wanted to be. >> ready to meet the super stars here tonight? make noise. omaha, nebraska. >> reporter: this live show was special. eveal knievel's very own granddaughter christen sang the national anthem. ♪ and the rockets red glare ♪ the bombs bursting in air ♪ gave proof through the night that our flag was still there ♪

>> bless these stunt people. keep them safe. give us a good show in jesus' name. amen. >> reporter: gene sullivan, who heads the jump for jesus ministry, delivered the invocation. and then all hell broke loose. >> that's right. it's time to smash the metal, ladies and gentlemen. boys and girls. rock'n'roll. yeah! >> reporter: sensational, stupefying. this was only the beginning. >> are you ready to blow something up any, omaha? let me hear you. >> reporter: ambulances were standing by. >> 1, 2, 3. >> reporter: stunning. these folks really know how to have a good time. >> it was awesome, man. the best time of my life. >> want to let them get burning good here. >> reporter: this is not pro wrestling, folks. this is real.

>> i probably have about $300,000 in hospital bills that i'm working on. >> reporter: broken a lot of bones. >> broken a lot of bones. been on life light helicopter four times. this is live. it's for real. it's true drama. people could die here tonight. >> reporter: mr. dizzy, for example. he raced around the track inexplicably dragging a trailer of burning hey found for a high speed rendevouz. flabbergasting. >> he says it was hot. i'm telling you what. did he really smoke that motor home tonight? >> that was fire. that was for you. love you, nebraska. >> reporter: oddly, many daredevil off spring choose to enter the family business. >> i'm wiley. i'm 19. i plan to fall into my dad's tracks. >> reporter: dizzy. >> mr. dizzy.

i just recently started doing stunts, blowing myself up and everything. smrt. >> reporter: spanky's son brian follows in his father's fool hardyness. the two sometimes performing stunts side by side. >> it's an honor tore me to help these young kids. >> reporter: do you recommend this to young people? >> i don't recommend stunts to anybody. i would never ask anybody to do a stunt. there's a certain breed of people that want to do this. >> spanky spangler in the big car getting ready to go high, high, high in the sky. >> reporter: in his signature stunt, the car drops, spanky is raised as high at 190 feet in the air. >> spanky! spanky! >> reporter: and then launched to earth. think of him as sort of john glenn in reverse. >> here we go. yeah! here we go!

>> reporter: spanky's luck had held one more time. and from the wreckage emerged a man with a message. and perhaps another concussion. >> when you're an american daredevil it's a kind of freedom. we're lucky to live in a country like this where you have freedom. being a daredevil doing what you want to do no matter how dangerous it is, it's freedom. it's freedom. ♪ [ male announcer ] there is nothing more profound than hope. it is the promise that compels us to make the journey from wonder to discovery. the science of chemistry, our guide. the human element, our conscience. and to make this journey, we have become the new order of hunters and gatherers. finding answers in the elements. and a way forward illuminated by hope.

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you go to the shops... i'll meet you at the gate. thanks. please remove all metal objects out of your pockets. with chase freedom you can get a total of 5% cash back. fun money from freedom. that's 5% cash back in quarterly categories and an unlimited 1% cash back everywhere else. and this too. does your card do this? i'm going to need a supervisor over here at gate 4. sign up for this quarter's bonus today. chase what matters. go to chase.com/freedom. >> osgood: we leave you this last sunday morning of summer on the beach at the cape cod national seashore. ógwokç8v8vkçkç/=woo=kçoñkço;/=of è

>> osgood: i'm charles osgood. please join us again next sunday morning. until then, i'll see you on the radio. captioning made possible by johnson & johnson, where quality products for the american family have been a tradition for generations captioned by ,,

our state is in a real mess. and i'm not going to give you any phony plans or snappy slogans that don't go anywhere. we have to make some tough decisions. we have to live within our means. we have got to take the power from the state capitol and move it down to the local level, closer to the people. and no new taxes, without voter approval. we have got to pull together not as republicans or as democrats but as californians first. at this stage in my life, i'm prepared to do exactly that.